A Randomized, Open-Label, Comparative Crossover Handling Trial between Two Durable Pens in Patients with Type 1 or 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Background: This open-label, randomized, comparative crossover usability study investigated preference between durable insulin pens, NovoPen® 4 and NovoPen 3, among patients with types 1 and 2 diabetes. Methods: In a timed test, 82 current NovoPen 3 users (mean age, 48.5 years) assessed intuitiveness of NovoPen 4. After timed training, this group and 34 insulin-naïve patients (mean age, 61.8 years) were randomized to a handling evaluation of NovoPen 4 followed by NovoPen 3, or vice versa, in which participants made three injections into a foam cushion. A device-specific questionnaire was filled out for each pen. A third questionnaire asked participants to compare pens. Results: Current NovoPen 3 users completed the intuitive assessment of NovoPen 4 in an average time of 1.94 min (range, 0.57–4.98 min). The training of insulin-naïve patients occurred in slightly less time with NovoPen 4 than with NovoPen 3 but did not reach significance (9.9 versus 11.5 min; p = .32). Survey responses showed that both groups had less difficulty and were more confident in handling NovoPen 4 than NovoPen 3; 96.3% of the NovoPen 3 users and 100% of the insulin-naïve group preferred to use NovoPen 4 ( p < .0001). Conclusion: Patients currently using NovoPen 3 or who were insulin naïve expressed a preference for NovoPen 4 in this study, reporting it to be simpler to learn and easier to use than NovoPen 3. NovoPen 4 may help facilitate insulin therapy among newly diagnosed patients and potentially improve adherence and treatment satisfaction among current NovoPen 3 users.